teh kidz r alright

I was recently directed to yet another complaint about the decline of literacy, the corrosive intellect-leaching power of digital technology, and our collective guilt for letting Western civilization subside into a mire of tweets, blogs, and gaming.

iPhones Have Consequences, by Sally Thomas, is a witty, engaging essay on the subject, supported by memorable anecdotes. I believe it delves deeper into the question than most such efforts, and it’s well worth reading.

I feel I must address her argument that the present college generation is dumber than we forty-somethings, seeing as I’ve argued exactly the opposite. It’s my view that the forty-somethings are the dumbest generation currently on offer, and the so-called “twixters” or “tweens” are more curious than we, and have read more and thought about more than we had at their age.

Chicken joke: Big Pharma

Time for another chicken joke. Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? Big Pharma: . . . Side effects are usually mild and may include headache, nausea, vomiting, liver failure, or dementia characterized by compulsive road-crossing behavior. So go ahead. Take charge of your life. Ask your doctor about Avid®, our latest boutique drug for vaguely […]

More about Langford

Danner at 9 numbers built a thoughtful post on the Langford case around a comment of mine. Worth reading if you’re a fellow Birminghamster. Langford was grand marshal of the city Christmas parade yesterday and put a cheerful face on his arrest and indictment. Judging from comments that people in the crowd made to TV […]